Tech to Trust: The Philosophy Behind America's Cardroom

“He was playing poker and the others were gambling. And he won.” -- Jessica Chastain as Molly Bloom in “Molly’s Game,” talking about one of her celebrity players, “Player X”.

“They largely got it right,” Jason Clark, CMO of Americas Cardroom, commented on the movie Molly’s Game. “After 25 years of delivering online poker, we’ve seen all of those characters. And I think we share a lot of the same philosophies.”

The key factor in choosing where to play poker, online or otherwise, comes down to one factor: trust. Site performance, a great user interface, hand histories, these are all “table stakes,” Clark punningly puts it.

Are your funds safe? Are you playing real people or automated “bots”? Will you get paid if you win? Is the game fair? Online poker, over the years, has had a mixed reputation.

“‘Greed is good’?” he asks, quoting Michael Douglas from Wall Street. “Not at the poker table, and not in the online poker business.” Taking care of your players is job one, and, online, that’s a lot more than having the right kind of champagne on ice.

Poker is having a bit of a re-emergence as more countries are getting more bandwidth, smart phones becoming more affordable, and people are seeking a more person-to-person experience than just watching reels spin or cards hit the felt. And Americas Cardroom is carrying the banner for a high-performance, user-friendly interface and beginner-friendly website, with a long tradition of getting it right.

Knowing you’re playing against real people, using your wits and skills, is what Esports is all about. With everything going automated and AI these days, online poker is among the places where players can potentially win cash, depending on the platform and the game format.

Anyone can play. “Learn the basic hand ratings and use your head. You’ll fold 80% of the time and sit it out, if you’re playing it smart,” said Clark. Hence, many players “multi-table,” playing multiple poker games at the same time, which is better on a PC than on a cell phone, admittedly.

Celebrities occasionally play poker, both online and in live settings, when it fits their interests or public appearances. Most famously, Matt Damon of the poker movie Rounders, Tobey Maguire (he was Player X in Molly’s Game and considered by some to be the best celeb player out there), Matt’s buddy Ben Affleck, Leonardo DiCaprio, and the list goes on.

Sure, there are some factual errors in Molly’s Game. The house can’t decide to take a rake (cut of the pot) in the middle of a poker hand. You can’t raise the bet by $200,000 when the initial bet was $300,000. Americas Cardroom’s software is designed to streamline actions at the table, including small, incremental raises such as adding $2 after an initial $3.

But find a cardroom you can trust. After operating for 25 years, that says something about why poker players keep coming back to Americas Cardroom.

Please play responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available. Call 1-800-GAMBLER.

(Most states in which gambling is legal also have state-specific “Help” resource disclosure requirements.)